Heart murmur

The heart is a muscle that pumps blood around the body, providing it with oxygen and nutrients. The normal pumping and shutting of valves in the heart causes the ‘lub-dub’ heart sounds that a vet listens for with a stethoscope.

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)

Deaf cats

Deaf cats compensate for their lack of hearing by using their other senses more, so much so that it may be hard to tell whether or not they are deaf. There are varying degrees of deafness and different causes which may or may not be treatable.

Feline gingivitis and stomatitis

Blind cats

Depending on the cause, blindness can be partial or complete and can be reversible or permanent. If your cat is blind he will adapt very well to the loss of sight and can live a perfectly happy, healthy life.

Shy and timid cats

Respiratory disease and feline asthma

Disease affecting the upper respiratory tract in cats is commonly known as ‘cat flu’ and can be due to a number of infectious agents. Asthma, however, is a disease that affects the lower respiratory tract or small airways within the lungs.

When to let go

The average life expectancy of a cat is around 14 years. However, many cats live well beyond this. As a pet owner it is important that you are able to assess your cat’s quality of life in order to prevent possible suffering as your cat gets older or if he becomes ill.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus affects the control of blood sugar levels and usually occurs in middle-aged and older cats, particularly those that are overweight. There may be some genetic predisposition to the condition.

Arthritis

Hypertension

In cats, high blood pressure (known as hypertension) usually occurs as a result of another underlying disease, such as kidney disease, heart disease or hyperthyroidism. It can also occur as the primary problem.

Kidney or renal failure

Feline Parovirus (FPV)

Feline parvovirus is a virus that can cause severe disease in cats – particularly kittens. It can be fatal. As well as feline parvovirus (FPV), the disease is also known as feline infectious enteritis (FIE) and feline panleucopenia.